Image blur is a common problem in photography and has a variety of causes such as focusing errors and motion of the imaged object. Motion of the camera relative to the imaged object is another source of image blur. Camera motion is also referred to as camera shake or hand shudder. When a person is holding a camera during exposure, camera shake causes image blurring, particularly during long exposure times and for image enlargement (e.g., using a zoom or telephoto lens). Camera shake is typical because human muscles naturally tremor at frequencies approximately in the range of 4-12 Hz. Additionally, small cameras such as cell phone cameras are particularly prone to camera shake because they are constructed of lightweight materials and are sometimes awkward to hold during operation.
In efforts to reduce image blur, imaging devices such as hand-held cameras typically implement some type of image stabilization technology. Image stabilization refers to reducing the effects of relative movement between an image sensor and an object being imaged. Conventional image stabilization techniques for still camera systems, as compared to video camera systems, typically involve movement measurements and complementary mechanical displacement of a lens or image sensor. Conventional camera systems typically use two or more gyroscopes (e.g., piezoelectric or microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) gyros) to measure the movement of the camera. Once the movement is measured, mechanical displacement systems physically move the image sensor in a manner to compensate for the movement of the camera. Other conventional systems physically move the camera lens to compensate for the detected camera movement. However these conventional mechanical systems are cost prohibitive and are often too large to be implemented in small camera systems such as cell phone cameras. Additionally, conventional mechanical systems are subject to mechanical failures.